A Little Help From My Friends
by WickedLucy
Summary: "She needed to stop this, she needed to get a grip and control this, and she had to do it soon. So, with a deep breath, she picked up the phone and called the one person who always managed to make this magic thing seem as easy as eating an apple." When Emma loses control, Regina is there to help. 4x08. Oneshot.


_**Disclaimer: **These characters and the show are property of the Disney and ABC guys. No copyright infringement intended, although I wouldn't complain if they felt like hiring me for a few consults on how to end that awful OutlawQueen plot and get this show back on its feet. But I digress. The title is from that song by those guys. You may have heard of them once or twice. The Beatles. ;)_

**_A/N:_**_ This story takes place on episode 4x08 (Smash the Mirror - part 1), right after Emma wakes up and Henry finds her. I didn't think it made any sense for her to look for Gold for help when, just a couple of episodes before, she explicitly told Regina she made it easier to control her magic. So I fixed it! ^^_

_I want to thank my amazing girlfriend Summer for being my inspiration to write again! I love you!_

* * *

**A Little Help From My Friends**

Emma Swan liked to run.

It wasn't a secret to anyone who knew her. Throughout the years, though, her reasons changed considerably. At first, she did it because she couldn't trust anyone, and she was scared of getting too close. Then, it was because she hurt people she did care about, and didn't know how to deal with the consequences.

But now, as she looked into her hands, glowing with a kind of magic which was still mostly unknown and uncontrollable to her, the reasons had once again changed. She had people. She loved them. She was loved by them. It wasn't that she couldn't trust them.

She couldn't trust herself near them.

Opening her eyes, the blonde took in her surroundings, and the discomfort on her back, combined with the stiffness of her neck and the still present glow on her hands helped situate her. Moving inside her car, she took a deep breath and opened the door, the need for some fresh air becoming overwhelming.

Then she heard it. Henry's voice. And it was both the best and most terrifying feeling in the world. It was good seeing her son, but if he kept on walking towards her, she knew she would hurt him.

And so she did, and she could feel her heart break at the sight of yet another person running away from her. She needed to stop this, she needed to get a grip and control this, and she had to do it soon.

So, with a deep breath, she picked up the phone and called the one person who always managed to make this magic thing seem as easy as eating an apple.

* * *

"You hurt Henry?"

Emma had to pull the phone away from her ear a little bit not to risk going deaf over how loud Regina's voice on the other side was.

"I didn't mean to, I…" she didn't, however, have any time to come up with anything better to say, for in less than a second, the former Evil Queen had already materialized in front of her.

"You hurt Henry?" she repeated, if possible, even louder than before.

"Regina, don't come near me, I don't want to hurt you."

It was the fear in her voice, first. The glow radiating from Emma's hand came second, and then Regina understood, stopping in her tracks and softening her tone considerably. "Emma? Tell me he's ok, tell me he's safe and then we can take care of that."

"He is," she replied, voice still shaky, "I called my parents, he's back home and he's ok. They said they tried to call you, but you didn't pick up."

Regina's face fell at the last information, which earned a curious glance from Emma. Guilt showed on her features, and the blonde could clearly see her trying to shake it out and focus on the problem at hand. "Now tell me, why should I help you instead of going to my son right now and making sure he is fine?"

"Because I don't want to hurt anyone else. And you're the only person who can understand and help. Or possibly Gold, but please don't make me go to Gold!"

Emma's exasperation and near whine caused Regina's eyes to roll before the faintest trace of an amused smirk formed on her lips. "Fine, come here."

It was the first time Emma could remember smiling that day.

* * *

"You are not doing as I tell you!"

"I told you, I'm trying."

"Well, you need to try harder, it's been ten minutes and your hands are still shining more than Mary Margaret's Christmas tree!"

The blonde looked at her own hands and laughed for a second, her eyes then looking back up to meet the Regina's clearly unimpressed ones. It was the brunette who took a deep breath this time, looking at Emma and motioning for her to do the same.

"Forget about magic. Actually, forget about focus altogether, you've always been awful at it."

"Rude!" Emma immediately replied, to which Regina simply glared.

"What I was trying to say was that maybe we need a different approach. How did this start?"

"Therapy, really?"

Regina Mills, former Queen and Mayor, nearly resorted to something as ungraceful as facepalming. It wasn't enough that she and Snow White's spawn shared a son and were kind of a part of the same family because of it, but now they were also into this new and strange kind of friends territory.

She was starting to realize why she always just chose to be evil. It was a lot less frustrating.

"What did the Snow Queen tell you to get this started?" she tried once more, the look in her eyes making it very clear how serious she was.

For the longest time, the wheels turned on Emma's brain, not because she needed any help figuring that one out, but because she wasn't sure how much she was willing to share. It wasn't as if she hadn't shared some of what made her feel most vulnerable with Regina before, but it seemed to be a one way street and she was getting sick of it.

The former Queen, on her turn, watched Emma with a curiosity not many people elicited from her. Just by watching the frown on her features, something she wasn't sure the blonde had noticed she was even expressing, Regina could tell she was considering just running from there, running from her, and trying to figure that out alone. It was what made her worry, uncharacteristically so. "Don't run," she wasn't sure why these words, particularly, came out, but they certainly got Emma's attention, green eyes meeting brown ones. "Just tell me."

It took a little longer, but the distressed blonde spoke sadly. "I'm different," she started, feeling the magic within her grow stronger just by broaching the subject, "I'm unpredictable, and dangerous, and…" the last part was spoken with a sigh that contained more sadness than Emma was willing to admit, "and I'm all grown up. She wouldn't even let me hold him."

Ignoring the magic that practically radiated from the Savior, Regina took a step closer, and then another, until they were face to face. It was clear now, that Ingrid had taken notice of the little things that eventually always happened when 'normal' people were confronted with magic: the fear, the rejection. And, to Emma, it came from the two idiots. "It seems to me it might do you some good to let it out."

With a scoff, Emma rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm not going to cry and hug it out."

Emma did not think it was possible for someone's eyes to roll as hard as Regina's did after her words.

"I meant your magic, Ms Swan! It's just us, in the middle of nowhere. And that monstrosity you call a car. I can take care of myself and that car will probably look better once it turns to ashes anyway, so why not? Instead of trying to control it, lose control. At least for a moment. Trust me, it can be a real stress relief."

"Are you insane? What if I can't come back from it?" Emma fired back, looking at Regina in disbelief.

Regina's lips turned upwards in a genuine, albeit small smile, "Isn't that why you called me? You won't get that far. But if you do, I will bring you back."

The Savior's eyes searched for any kind of deceit within the brown ones which stared back at her. But, for the first time in a long time, she did not feel like running.

With an almost imperceptible nod, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and stopped trying to contain her magic. Without any restrains, it flowed free through her body until it finally escaped through her fingertips and palms.

And it felt fantastic. As it did, it was almost as if any pain she was feeling started leaving too, and she felt lighter.

Regina could not believe one person could alone hold so much power. It was electrifying and wonderful to see, this woman who up until a few minutes before was so unsure of herself, and now shone brightly, destroying trees and blowing up stones all around them without realizing she did so. Never realizing her true potential.

It was not until she noticed Emma starting to struggle that the brunette took a few tentative steps closer. "Emma? You can do this."

She sounded so sure that Emma found it difficult not to believe the words. And it took much less energy than she thought it would for her to finally close her hands into loose fists, ceasing all magical activity around them.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah, I do," she smiled faintly before shadows seemed to cover her face again, "But I still hurt him."

"He's not a little boy anymore, Emma. He knows nothing is as simple as good and evil, light or dark. I'm sure the only thing he's thinking about right now is if you are ok. Your idiotic parents too," she felt the need to add as an afterthought, earning a chuckle from the blonde.

"He's a good kid. See, we didn't screw him up that badly," she offered a tentative smile that was reciprocated almost right away. That was what prompted her to continue. "Thank you, Regina. I meant what I said that day. I seem to learn faster when you teach me. Probably because you understand me in a way they can't."

All her life, people ran from Regina Mills.

It wasn't a secret to anyone who remotely knew her story. Throughout the years, and for a number of different reasons, people ran from her life, from her attention, from her affections. Most of the time, she knew she was the one who scared them off.

And it felt good, Regina couldn't help thinking. It felt good to be the one someone always seemed to call for help, for once, and not the person people ran from. That was why, when she replied, there was a smile on her face and a tone that was far from serious as they walked back to their son. "Don't push it, Swan."


End file.
